Bowties with Sugar Snap Peas, Lemon & Ricotta

Perfect for early summer when the snap peas arrive at the market!

Ingredients
Salt for pasta water
1 lb. sugar snaps
1 lb.  dried pasta bowties
1/2 c. (about 1 oz.) pecorino romano or parmesan, finely grated
A glug, then a drizzle, of olive oil
Coarse or fine sea salt for sprinkling
Black pepper, freshly ground
Juice of 1 lemon, plus more to taste
Few leaves of mint, slivered
1 c. ricotta

Directions
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to boil. While waiting, string sugar snaps and cut into 1/2-inch segments. Cook bowties for two minutes less than the suggested cooking time on the package, then add sugar snaps to pasta. Cook for one minute more. Reserve one cup pasta cooking water, then drain the sugar snaps and bowties. Add them back to the empty pot with 1/2 cup pasta cooking water, grated cheese, a glug of olive oil, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook on high for one minute, tossing constantly. Add a splash more cooking water if pasta looks too dry. Turn the heat off, dollop ricotta all over in large spoonfuls and, without stirring, tip pasta mixture into a wide serving bowl. (I do this because I love the idea of finding slightly unmixed pockets of ricotta.) Drizzle pasta with a small amount of olive oil, then squeeze lemon juice over the whole dish, sprinkle with mint, and finish with an extra sprinkling of parmesan. Serve quickly. 

NOTE: Lemon juice, rather rudely, discolors green vegetables so be sure to add this only right before serving.

Serves 4 as a main course, 8 as a side dish. 

Enchilada Skillet

I found this recipe on www.plainchicken.com, but obviously needed to adjust to accommodate my meatless preference. This is quick and easy, and tastes very similar to traditional enchiladas without all the work! 

Ingredients

2 c. mixed veggies, like zucchini, carrots, and red peppers, chopped

1 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 c. onion, chopped

1 tsp. garlic, minced

1-12 oz. jar enchilada sauce 

1-15 oz. can black beans

1/4 c. vegetable broth

1 c. salsa

1/2 c. heavy cream

8 oz. pasta, like penne or campanelle

1 c. cheese, shredded

2 tbsp. cilantro, chopped

Directions

Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a 12-inch skillet, until hot. Add onions, garlic, and veggies until slightly softened. They don't need to be completely cooked because they will continue to cook with the pasta. Add enchilada sauce, black beans, broth, cream, salsa, and pasta. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover skillet. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until pasta is tender. Remove skillet from heat. Top with cheese and mix in. Serve with chopped cilantro. 

NOTE: I believe this would work well in a crockpot! Just toss in all the ingredients and cook on low for several hours. Check often to make sure veggies are not mushy and pasta is tender. 

Serves 4. 

Coconut Corn Salad

Yet ANOTHER Heidi Swanson special. Her recipes are so fresh and delicious. This one is perfect when you have farm fresh corn... I probably wouldn't make it at any other time of year. I made a couple of adjustments based on what I had on hand.

Ingredients
3 tbsp. of butter or olive oil
5 ears of corn, shucked
fine grain sea salt
2 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
1 c. unsweetened coconut flakes, well toasted
1 c. sliced almonds, well toasted
3 tbsp. red onions, diced
juice of one lime

Directions
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the corn, sprinkle with a couple of pinches of salt and stir well. You want all the corn to be coated. Cook for just a minute, until the corn looses its raw edge, stir in half the thyme, and then transfer the corn to a large serving bowl. Just before you're ready to serve, add most of the almonds, most of the coconut flakes, the rest of the thyme, red onions, and juice. Stir well. Taste, season with more salt to taste, and serve topped with the remaining coconut and almonds (and another jolt of juice, if needed!).

Serves 4 as a salad.

Yellow Bean Salad with Coconut-Cilantro Dressing

My adaptation on a recipe from Heidi Swanson's 101 Cookbooks, for beans fresh from the garden!

Ingredients
1 lb. yellow runner beans (or, use green beans!)
1 jalapeno, stemmed and seeded
5 green onions, green parts trimmed and reserved
a big handful of cilantro
1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
3/4 tsp. fine grain sea salt
1 tbsp.sunflower oil
1 c. coconut milk, well mixed
1-2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice, or to taste1 tsp. agave
2 big handfuls pepitas, toasted
1 avocado, diced (optional)

Directions
Cut the beans into 1-inch segments on a deep bias. Cook in a pot of well-salted water for just 30-45 seconds, drain, and run under cold water to stop cooking. Drain, and aggressively shake off as much water as possible. Set aside.

To make the dressing, pulse the chile, onions, cilantro, garlic, salt, and sunflower oil into a paste with a food processor. Pulse in the coconut milk in two additions, before adding the lemon juice to taste, a half tablespoon at a time.

Place the beans and avocado (if using) in a large bowl with most of the pepitas. Toss well with a generous amount of the dressing. Serve in a bowl or platter topped with the remaining pepitas and scallions. 

Chickpea Quinoa Burgers with Pineapple

A recommendation from Tracey Henderson, this veggie burger is one of the few that holds up on the grill! Full of protein and Indian flare, it was super easy to throw together for a quick dinner! Sweet potato fries accompanied ours! 

Ingredients
1 can chickpeas, drained
1/2 c. coconut milk
1/2 tsp. curry
1/2 tsp. garam masala
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. adobo seasoning
1/4 c. fresh chives or scallions, chopped
1/2 c. quinoa, cooked
2/3 c. panko breadcrumbs
4 slices fresh pineapple
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. toasted sesame seed oil
1/4 c. Veganaise
lime zest
black pepper, freshly ground
4 whole wheat hamburger buns

Directions

Place the chickpeas, coconut milk, curry, garam masala, adobo seasoning, and garlic powder in a food processor. Pulse until pureed. Stir in the chives, Quinoa, and panko crumbs. Form into 4 patties.
Heat a grill to medium-high heat. Mist patties with olive oil spray and grill patties until golden brown on each side. Then set aside the patties, mist pineapple with sesame seed oil spray and grill until grill lines appear on each side of the fruit.

In a small bowl, stir together the lime zest, pepper, and Veganaise.
Serve the Chickpea burgers topped with grilled pineapple, your flavored Veganaise, and a bit of lettuce on top of of your burger buns.

Savory Cornmeal Waffles

Ingredients
DRY:
1 1/4 cup flour
1 1/4 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
WET:
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup melted butter
MIXINS:
3 tablespoon chopped chives
1 small-dice jalapeno
3/4 cup shredded cheese
1/4 cup diced onion
POSSIBLE TOPPINGS:
Fried eggs
More chives
Scallions
Salsa
Tomatoes
Avacado

Directions
Whisk together the dry ingredients. Whisk together the wet ingredients. Pour wet over dry ingredients and stir together gently with fork, until no dry ingredients remain at bottom, but there are still some clumps within the mix. Fold in the mixins.

Cook in a waffle iron per the directions. Serve with any or all of the possible toppings.

Adapted from Joy the Baker.

Strawberry XYZ Cocktail

Ingredients
2oz light rum
1oz Cointreau (or triple sec)
1oz lemon juice
1oz strawberry juice
Ice

Directions
Cut your lemon garnish before squeezing the lemon (twist or very thin slice to float on top). Shake all liquids with ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass. Add garnish.

This makes a lot, feel free to reduce all ingredients by 25%. We get strawberry juice by letting a lot of strawberries defrost in a container. You can make a regular one without strawberry juice, too.

Bufala Negra Cocktail

Ingredients
4 basil leaves
1tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 oz simple syrup
1 1/2 oz bourbon
1 1/2 oz chilled ginger ale

Directions
In cocktail shaker, muddle 3 of the basil leaves, vinegar, and simple syrup. Add ice and bourbon and shake. Strain into glass. Add ginger ale and 4th basil leaf as garnish.

Runny Honey

Ingredients
1part water
1part raw honey

Directions
Boil water. Turn down heat. Add honey and stir until thoroughly mixed. Remove from heat. Add to cocktails or other cold beverages. The idea is that it will mix with cold liquids much better than straight honey.

Simple Syrup

Ingredients
1 part water
2 parts sugar

Directions
Boil water. Turn off heat. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Boiling longer makes the syrup thick. Use white sugar for a clear syrup and neutral flavor. Use unprocessed/turbinado sugar for a dark color and slightly caramely flavor. Add to cocktails.